


Maid to Order

by KalaKitsune



Category: Terminator Salvation (2009)
Genre: AU, Bottom!Marcus, Human Experimentation, Human/Robot Relations, I guess..., Kinda..., M/M, Robot Feels, Technology, Temporary Character Death, Wee!!!, top!John
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-06
Updated: 2015-05-06
Packaged: 2018-03-29 08:43:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3889891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KalaKitsune/pseuds/KalaKitsune
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dr. John Connor isn't lonely... he just needs help... Taking the advice of his father, John orders a custom T-Bot 'Housekeeper' from Skynet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Free Reign on Design

**Author's Note:**

> All chapter have been beta read by JacklesPenis.

If asked, Doctor John Conner would deny that it was partially the loneliness eating away at him that urged him on in his decision to invest in a Skynet T-Bot (a machine that is made to order, with looks ranging from machine to very nearly human).

 

No, not loneliness…

 

His wife, Kate, had been dead for five years now, and he no longer found it as easy as it once was to find a nanny for his two twin five year olds, Kate and Sora. He was a busy man, he had the money, but the older the twins got the more nannies they seemed to go through. He admitted that the twins could be rambunctious, but he never thought them bad enough that word of the 'devil children' would spread so fast and far through the nanny community to the point where none were up for working for the prestigious doctor…

 

It had been John's father, Kyle, who had suggested the whole thing. Kyle had purchased a refurbished model T-800F, lovingly calling 'her' Star. Star looked human, but there were times when 'she' did something that would give the façade away. It also helped that Star's speech mechanisms were not reparable, making the somewhat seemingly aware mute Bot even more endearing to John's father, who treated the T-Bot as if she were his own flesh and blood, often referring to her as John's little sister.

 

Kyle had provided a valid argument, and John could see the logic; he just had a hard time excepting that a T-Bot was his last option. John's mother, Sarah, had hated the technology that made what she called abominations. This was always a strong and horribly argumentative topic in their household back when she was with them.

 

It wasn't that John agreed with his mother; he just didn't really agree with his father either. Kyle treated the T-Bots as if they had feelings, whereas John saw them as nothing more than unfeeling machines.

 

*~*JOHN/MARCUS*~*

 

"Welcome, Doctor Connor, we've been expecting you." A petite blonde in a mint green nurses outfit greeted him cheerfully, and John recognized her for what she was as she gave him a pleasant, albeit plastic, smile. She was the same model as Star, John noted, recalling how popular the T-800 were; functional, with an easily upgradeable memory bank, while appearing almost human.

 

Almost human, John repeated in his mind, as he regarded the slim and slightly curvy T-Bot with a wary eye. Her big blue eyes blinked up at him blankly, and he shivered at the deadness he saw there. Dead? No, they were never alive. John didn't like the lifelessness he saw there. They appeared so human, and yet in his mind he could only see them as some lifeless human replacement with dead eyes. Perhaps this was a bad idea…

 

"This way please, Doctor," she said in her soft soprano voice, her machine mind not comprehending the apprehensive and slightly disturbed look John now wore. She turned on her three inch heels and began to walk smoothly down the corridor towards a set of double doors.

 

John followed behind her as they walked down several more nondescript corridors before coming to what appeared to be an office. Behind the large oak desk in the center of the sparsely decorated white room sat a woman John recognized immediately.

 

"Doctor Connor!" Serena Kogan greeted him happily, rising from her desk and moving to take his right hand in a firm handshake before turning to the T-Bot and dismissing it.

 

"So," Serena began happily, her eyes wide with surprise and pleasure. "You are _finally_ getting a T-Bot of your own! It's so exciting!"

 

"Yes… something has come up… and father talked me into giving it a try," John murmured as an explanation.

 

"Oh! How is Professor Kyle! I hope everything is going well with his T-800F," Serena exclaimed, her voice even happier, if possible.

 

"He and 'Star' are fine," was John's short response; he could only handle so much Serena at one time. Her chipper attitude tended to make him even more sour than he tended to be.

 

"That's great!" she all but squealed in delight. "Come, come, take a seat, and we'll get you all setup for your own T-Bot, shall we!" she continued, waving him towards one of the plush chairs positioned before her desk, as she closed the door and made her way back to her own seat.

 

"What model?" she began, filling out what John could only assume was an order form, all business once they were both seated comfortably.

 

"Anything is fine," John answered, his voice sounding gruff, as usual.

 

Serena just pursed her lips at his response, marking something down on the paper; she looked back up at him before continuing. "What exactly are you looking for in your T-Bot?"

 

"What exactly do you mean?" John countered.

 

"Well, what functions are looking for your T-Bot to have?" Serena explained. "Such as: Housekeeping, Child Care, Maintenance, Hard Labor, etc." She smiled sweetly across her desk at him as she listed off a few of the functions that were available.

 

"I suppose I need one that can do housekeeping and child care…" John said slowly, not liking the smile that grew brighter as he spoke.

 

"Perfect! Like a housewife model!" Serena squealed in delight, writing on the paper once again, all professionalism gone as she pulled a portfolio from her desk before he could correct her. "Now please choose features from here that you find pleasing!" she practically giggled as she opened the portfolio, which seemed to hold a wide variety of pictures of physical features to choose from in building your T-Bot's custom face and body.

 

John didn't even give the portfolio a second glance as he looked at Serena. "I don't really care much for what it looks like. Average and plain will do."

 

"John Connor! The face and body of your T-Bot is very important! It adds a sense of uniqueness and individuality to your Bot! I'm beginning to believe you aren't serious about purchasing a T-Bot at all!" Serena protested, firmly refusing to take his nonchalant attitude on this subject.

 

"Fine… We've known each other since our college days… Just pick something that you like," John replied. It was a T-Bot for Christ's sake! What difference did its appearance make, just as long as it worked correctly?

 

"No, John! I'll pick something that 'you' will like. After all, we have known each other since our college days." Her smile was a bit borderline evil around the edges, and John momentarily wondered if he had made the wrong decision placing the T-Bot's appearance and model in her hands, whether they be capable hands or not.

 

*~*JOHN/MARCUS*~*

 

Their meeting ended quickly after that. There were several papers to sign—many dealing with the purchase of a unique T-Bot—and the date for which he would need it delivered by. Both of these subjects were flexible. Money, well, it wasn't really a problem. As for date, he told her to send over the T-Bot as soon as she had it available.

 

"I'd only do a custom T-Bot for someone I really cared for John," Serena said as she walked him to the door of the facility. "Our friendship means much to me, and I want this Bot to be perfect and special just for you."

 

"Serena… Our friendship means a lot to me as well, but you really don't have to fix anything special." John sighed exasperatedly. "I just need a normal Bot for around the house that I can trust with the kids…"

 

"Of course, of course," she murmured as if she were trying to appease him. "You just want an average, plain and simple working Bot… And John, I'll do exactly as you ask." John sighed again knowing there was a catch, because he was talking to Serena, after all. "But one must remember, you gave me free reign!"

~ To Be Continued ~


	2. 'Special' Delivery

John's T-Bot was delivered exactly one month after his meeting with Serena and its purchase. He wasn't exactly sure what to expect, having given Serena free reign on design and all, as he stared at the large crate that was easily six foot in length and marked heavily in fragile labels and warnings, with the Skynet logo placed brightly on all sides. The 'This Side Up' sticker indicated in bold red and black lettering that the crate was meant to remain lain down, instead of standing it up.

 

It was still fairly early, and a Saturday, so the twins were still sleeping, something John was thankful for. No doubt the two little rug rats would assume the large crate a present for them, and John supposed it somewhat was, in a manner of speaking. Staring at the pale pressboard wooden box, John found he was almost eager to get inside and see what exactly it contained that required such care. Knowing Serena he might as well be expecting a carbon copy of his deceased wife… wouldn't that be just great…? No…

 

With a slight mental cringe John sent out a prayer to whomever was listening, hoping beyond all hope that the mad doctor wouldn't do such a thing. Yes, John got along with Kate well enough, but her passing hadn't hit him like it should have if he had loved her. He missed her elegant intelligent manner at times and regretted that their children had never met their mother and would now have to grow up without her. But John had never loved his wife, so the regret and loss didn't quite feel right or real.

 

A soft huff of breath brought John from his somber thoughts of his wife, and he now focused on the T-Bot that had brought the crate into his penthouse foyer. The burly T-Bot delivery man, dressed in a brown nondescript delivery uniform with the bright and bold Skynet logo on the back, held out his clipboard for John to sign as he retrieved a crow bar from his utility belt and began to pry at the boxes lid lightly, loosening it, but not removing it completely.

 

When the lid of the crate was loose, the T-Bot took back his clipboard and stepped back indicating with a small hand motion for John to remove the lid. Momentarily John wondered if the Bot was mute, like Star.

 

"No, it's fine. I'll finish this up myself. I'm sure you have several other deliveries you need to make before reporting back." John excused the delivery Bot who just made an odd almost nonchalant human grunt in the back of its throat as it shrugged; placing the crowbar back into its belt it saluted him before making its way back to the elevator that would take it away from John's condo. For the first time since the crate's arrival at his penthouse, John wondered how exactly the single T-Bot managed to get it into the building and into the elevator alone. John turned back to the crate deciding that the T-800's capableness wasn't of his concern.

 

Slipping his fingers into the space created by the crowbar, John lifted the loosened lid from the crate, sliding it off to the side as he stared at the contents with a curiosity he hadn't felt in some time, making the giddy feeling fairly foreign to him. There still was that niggling feeling that he may find a strikingly fair red head in the box, but he tried to ignore it as he spied a handwritten note addressed to him laying atop the packaging peanuts. Picking up the note he silently began to read:

_Dear John,_

_I was so happy that you had finally decided to get your very own T-Bot that I may have gone a little overboard when you allowed me free-reign. As you will soon discover, this model is nothing like the ones that Skynet currently supplies to the public. You, as an important friend, are now the owner of a new product from my very own 'Project Angel'._

_Inside this crate, you will find your new T-Bot, the T-Angel-69. I'll stop here; I'd hate to ruin the surprise! But John, I'll tell you this, this T-Angel-69 is unique in every way, and you'll never find another T-Bot to match it. As for how I went about choosing the Bot's appearance, well, I recalled our college days and put in much consideration for what I believe you would consider when appearance is involved, and I believe you will not find my choice lacking._

_One last note about your new T-Angel-69, you will find it quite capable of carrying out any tasks you set before it, and by 'any' I mean 'any'. The Bot is fully functioning, if you know what I mean *wink* *wink* *nudge* *nudge*._

_Don't be a stranger! I'd also love to get updates on how the T-Angel-69 does in a relatively normal home environment._

_Hugs and Kisses,_

_Serena_

 

John stared down at the letter as if he could see Serena herself smiling one of her trademark mischievous smiles back at him. God only knew what he was going to find in the box. He felt a bit alarmed now. Fully functioning, she had said, and even its name, T-Angel-69 was leading him into the belief that this was a sex bot…

 

With a heavy sigh of resignation, knowing that Serena would never change, he sat the note beside the crate before leaning forward and brushing the packaging peanuts aside from where he guessed the face would be. What he found left him dumbfounded. Nope, most definitely not a pale fiery red head.

 

*~*JOHN/MARCUS*~*

 

John stared down into the soft, manly yet subtly pretty and remarkably attractive features of one very male T-Bot. The 'skin' looked so real, and before John could comprehend what he was doing, he traced his fingertips over one high cheek bone, marveling at the rather long feminine lashes that cast shadows over the flawless surface. The 'skin' felt just as real as it looked and seemed to be made of some high quality material. It was velvety smooth and soft to the touch (almost reminiscent to a baby) and oddly enough seemed to radiate slight warmth, just like real body heat. John was so caught up in the sheer brilliance and detail of the T-Angel-69 that it never occurred to him what Serena might have been implying by sending him a male sex-bot…

 

John slid his fingers up the side of 'its' face into the very real looking semi-short brown hair. It was soft like silk, about an inch long, and done in a slightly disheveled style. John's brown eyes traveled over the young male face again, drinking in all and every detail from low arching brows to pale pink lips, neither too thick or too thin, before his gaze shifted and traveled down the column of exposed flesh that lead to barely visible, naked shoulders.

 

Brushing away more of the peanuts John paused as he revealed a tattoo, _Marcus,_ scrawled in an extravagant yet elegant looping hand flanked on each side by a cute pair of angel wings and a halo resting just atop the lettering _._ John traced the name, strategically placed over the location one would normally find the human heart, eyes rolling gently at what had prompted Serena into making this T-Bot, but his breath caught ever so slightly at the feel of what seemed to be very real and warm flesh beneath his fingertips. It was almost like he had felt a heartbeat, but that was ridiculous, because T-Bots didn't have heartbeats.

 

A knock from his front door pulled him from the haze that he had been in since he first laid eyes on 'its' highly detailed features. John fought with mixed feelings as he rose to his feet and made his way to answer the persistent knocking, calling gruffly as he went. "Who is it?"

 

"Barnes," was the grumpy reply of a voice he recognized well.

 

As he opened the door he tried to rationalize the attraction he felt for the T-Bot as nothing more than appreciation to detail and that no matter how real the young man looked he was nothing more than a uniquely new sex-bot. Speaking of which, he needed to give Serena a call and see what had possessed her to send him a male sex-bot when he had specifically said that the main functions he needed were housekeeping and childcare.

 

However, John couldn't ignore that small voice in the back of his mind that still marveled at how real the T-Bot, _Marcus_ , seemed in every way. He also couldn't deny the relief that Serena had decided not to make a replica of Kate.

 

~ To Be Continued ~


	3. Awaken the Creation

John's Saturday had gotten off to a rather unusual and busy start. He currently found himself sitting in his living room, T-Bot still in its box with an awestruck and cooing Blair hovering around the crate, and a huffy Barnes glaring at him over his coffee cup.

 

After the arrival of his very first T-Bot, Barnes and his ever trusty shadow, Blair, thought they would drop by and confirm that Serena had indeed been telling them the truth the afternoon prior.

 

It was Barnes who finally broke the tense silence that had fallen on the room. He was angry, and he let that anger seep into his words as he sat his coffee cup down on the low table in front of him before fixing John with one of his trademark 'dark glares of disapproval'. "Can't believe you actually broke down and bought one of these pieces of s—" Thankfully John didn't have to hear the rest of what Barnes was sure to make a long stream of cursing the grand bit of intelligence still inside its box, as Blair sat back on her heels squealing in delight.

 

"John! He's beautiful! I've never seen a Bot this detailed and lifelike! It even breathes, and I swear I felt a heartbeat!" Blair, normally calm and collected, showed her above average enthusiasm over fine machinery.

 

It was a wonder that the two of them were able to be around each other, John thought to himself as he watched Barnes throw a disapproving look at the young lady now beaming up at him from her kneeling position on the floor beside the crate, an eager hand placed lightly over the tattoo _'Marcus'._

 

A twisting in John's chest made his breath catch slightly as he watched the young woman stare awestruck down at the machine. It wasn't that he minded her looking at the bot, but did she really have to paw at it like that? John's thoughts were cut short, however, when she looked back down at the machine with a bright smile.

 

"Oh, I wished I could afford something this fine with my salary! Working as security at Skynet gives me a discount but not enough for something like this to be a reality." Blaire sighed whimsically as she pulled her hand away from the smooth flesh of the T-Bot.

 

"You don't need no damned machine…" Barnes grouched, and John could read the jealousy clearly on the man's face. Jealous of a machine…? Surely not... But the emotion was there.

 

John shook his head as he listened to his two closest 'friends' bicker back and forth, trying to forget the tightness in his chest and how it had almost completely vanished once Blair had her hands off of _his_ Bot. It wasn't possessiveness so early on in ownership, he tried to reason, just that the bot was a delicate machine and just because Blair guarded the facility that makes the bots she herself knew absolutely nothing about them.

 

"But you know," Blair said after their argument died down to the point where silence reigned again, breaking it effectively, "he kind of reminds me of someone."

 

"And who would that be?" John asked, not necessarily out of curiosity but to keep Barnes from snapping out something that would surely start another argument.

 

"Do you remember when we were all back in college? I think it was the first semester of our first year, before Barnes and you had your really big falling out over Serena?" Blair began slowly as if remembering back to that time herself and concentrating on getting all the details down.

 

"When Barnes thought I was after the good doctor in training, when in fact I was after a very different doctor?" John replied in way of a question, and Barnes just harrumphed clearly remembering when they were talking about. Barnes had always had a sweet spot for Serena, and that puppy love led him to his current career as head of Skynet security.

 

"Well, doesn't your bot kinda look like a professor from back then?" Blair asked but continued before either could respond. "I think he was a Criminology Professor or something like that. You remember, don't you John, after all you were in his class?" Her dark eyes fixed on him as she spoke, awaiting a confirmation or any recognition whatsoever.

 

John did remember. Images, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and feelings all rushing back to him. This was something he had tried to forget when he got with Kate. That man, that professor, was the first and last person John had actually felt anything for beyond just physical attraction. That was the closest John had ever come to feeling actual passionate and unbridled love for anything, let alone another human being.

 

"John?" Blair's voice questioned, breaking him out of his memories of years long since passed, prompting him for a response.

 

"Yeah… Yes… He…" John had trouble finding just the right words, stumbling over them as he spoke, something he didn't do very often. "I mean, yes, I know who you are talking about, but I really don't see the resemblance."

 

"Oh yeah, I remember who you're talkin' about, and Connor's right, they don't look nothin' alike." Barnes agrees gruffly, finally saying more than a noncommittal grunt, letting their previous argument go for now. "That guy you're talkin' about, he was a real piece of work. Rumor was he was some sort of detective before he became a professor, but I always imagined he was a rookie thief and grade a bad guy. The guy dressed like crap, always smelled like booze, had a constant 5 o'clock shadow, and poor hygiene. He was an all-around bum. For the life of me I can't figure out how someone like that got into teaching at such a pricy college like that one."

 

"Yeah…" Blair agreed slowly, her eyes darting to John's face as Barnes bad mouthed the professor. She was the only one who knew the truth. She had learned said truth on accident, but now she began to wonder if maybe Serena had built the bot to look like John's old flame on purpose. Did Serena walk in on them too? Did she know, or was this just a really weird and bizarre coincidence?

 

"What was that old pain in the asses name again?" Barnes blurted, scratching his chin in thought. "Wayne? No… Wong…? Nope, too foreign… Hmmm…"

 

"Wright… Professor Mark Wright…" John spoke the name softly, as if saying it to loud would summon up the spirit of the long since passed professor. John's dark brown eyes fell on the angelic tattoo of sloping looping hand on the bot's otherwise unmarked chest. _Marcus..._ Mark… How much did Serena know, and how much was mere coincidence…?

 

John's quiet admittance of the name spurred Blair into a quick subject change, because the atmosphere of the room was beginning to grow a bit too tense and thick for her.

 

"So… Have you tried turning it on yet?" she had to force herself to be a bit more chipper, trying to erase the tenseness from the room. She hadn't meant to dredge up old bad memories just because she thought the Bot resembled the professor.

 

"No…" John replied quietly, his dark eyes and face betraying nothing of his own inner thoughts.

He really 'was' bothered by their previous conversation, Blair thought as she traced his blank lost gaze to where it rested on the bot.

 

"Well, Barnes and I will be going now, so you can get right on that! Won't we Barnes?" She threw the large man a glare to keep him silent as she got to her feet.

 

Barnes just huffed and gave a nod as he rose to join her by the door. "Don't want nothin' to do with the damned thing. I may guard them for my job, but I still don't like 'em."

 

"See you later, John." Blair said softly in farewell before the door clicked loudly behind them.

 

Now John was alone with his thoughts… It was just him and the machine… and his memories…

_The sound of harsh breathing filled his ears alongside the loud thumping of his own heart as he nuzzled a somewhat unwilling neck. The man under him, now pliant, had been struggling futilely moments ago. This was a game, a game that both of them played. Roles were reversed in this game, where he was in control and the other always tried to fight his dominance. It always ended the same, no matter how it started; they always ended at the same place._

 

" _I'll tell you one last time Connor… Get the hell off of me, before I say to hell with the Student Teacher Policy and beat the shit out of you," the older man ground out as teeth scraped the side of his neck._

_John smirked against salty skin, tongue darting out to lick the stubbly expanse of flesh. Even when it was like this, the man still tried to keep a bit of fight, but that was just one more thing that made John's list of why he liked the man so much. "Professor, I've forgotten the Student Teacher Policy already, so by all means, I don't see why you don't do the same." A sharp bite followed by a soothing lick and soft kisses pulled a moan from the older man on the floor._

 

" _Connor… this is the Law Study Room… This isn't the time or place for you to get horny," Wright ground out as he tried to push his student away. They were feeble attempts, and they both knew it. If he really wanted to get away and stop this, he could. If he truly fought it, and didn't want it, they both knew John would stop._

 

" _Horny?" John laughed darkly against his professor's ear. "The time and place aren't my concern. I only get like this when I'm with you." And to drive his words home he ground his hips down rubbing their clothed erections together effectively pulling another moan from his older lover._

 

" _John…"_

_John pulled back at the gasp, looking down at his professor and seeing blue eyes glazed and unshaven face twisted in what could only be pleasure. It was rare for the older man to call him by his first name, seeing as how he refused to allow him to use his at all. Mark._

 

" _Only you get me like this." John whispered as he ground down on the smaller body under his own again. Their heights weren't that extreme in difference, just enough to give John a nice advantage when it came to a few select activities that he found enjoyable, that and he knew that Wright liked when he would bend down ever so slightly to steal a kiss. John gazed down at the blue eyes blown wide with pleasure and light brown unruly hair that was in dire need of a trimming. "God you're beautiful." He found himself breathing out before inhaling the scent of tobacco and cheap whiskey with an underlying scent that was uniquely Wright._

 

" _You shouldn't be saying that stuff to a scruffy old man like me," Wright snapped half-heartedly as he fought the dazed state John always seemed to have him in. "There's nothing good about a drunk good for nothin' like me. You should find yourself a nice girl and be telling that shit to her."_

 

" _I've found my nice girl." John mumbled, taking in more of that scent that screamed Mark Wright, the man who no longer gave a damn._

 

" _Then go be all horny with her!" Wright snapped, once again struggling to get out from under John's larger frame._

_John would bet money that Wright was jealous now of some girl that he thought John was with._

_"You don't need to be jealous of Kate."_

 

" _Who's jealous!?" Wright spat as his struggling increased but not to the point where John was willing to back off._

 

" _It doesn't matter. She doesn't matter. No one matters but you," John murmured placing a chaste kiss on Wright's lips as the man ceased all struggle, once again putty in Johns hands._

 

John shook himself mentally as he brought a hand up to rub at tired eyes in an attempt to also soothe the headache blossoming behind them. Why had he remembered such a thing after all these years? It was Blair and Barnes' faults for bringing up the past, and Serena's for making something that triggered Blair's own memories. He had caught the worried look in Blair's eyes as she realized what she had said. She remembered the unique relationship he had briefly held with the professor, her face had said as much.

 

John rubbed his hands down his face and blinked away the darkness as he allowed his eyes to fix on the crate and unique machine it held. Something to get his mind off of _that…_

 

Getting to his feet he walked to the crate before taking up a kneeling position at its side and peering down at the face that made Blair think of the man that John had betrayed and in turn betrayed him. Now that she had mentioned, it he could see the resemblance. The Bot didn't look nearly as old as Wright, or worn and unkempt. If Wright had had a son, he imagined he would look quite a bit like the bot before him. But that was impossible. This was just some big coincidence, unless Serena had known about his relationship with the man and remembered the professor to this very day enough to make a younger almost carbon copy of the man. And why the hell did she have to name it _Marcus_ , of all things!? She had said that she would 'pick something that he would like', but he couldn't imagine how she had come to this conclusion. Next to Kate, Professor Mark Wright was the last person he would ever want to have a replica of. There was too much hurt and regret connected to that name, _Mark… Marcus…_

 

Luckily the resemblance wasn't enough to put him off on the whole 'distract himself by turning it on' kick. So he took up the owner's manual and started skimming over the pages of info until he got to the section he needed. Briefly reading the "Awakening Your New Bot" page, he stared at the manual as if it had just stated he had to do something ridiculous, and in a way, it had.

_Step 1: Place your right palm over your new Angel-Bot's heart._

_Step 2: While hand is pressed over your new Angel's heart, where its unique name should be, say said unique name._

_Step 3: While right palm is still pressed over Angel's heart, give the Angel a brief and chaste lover's kiss._

 

Well… this confirmed the whole 'sex-bot' thing… Unless Serena was doing this just to torture him… The later was completely possible and plausible.

 

What the hell…

 

Before he could think himself out of it, John found himself pressing his right palm over the tattooed flesh, the hair at the back of his neck prickling at the soft skin and slight warmth under his fingertips, as he could indeed feel a tale tell heartbeat that Blair had mentioned and he had at first imagined.

 

Leaning forward he whispered the name. "Marcus…"

 

As his lips touched the bots, soft and unresponsive, in a chaste kiss, he once again drifted into memories he wished would just stay buried.

 

" _How could you do that?!" John was angry, possibly angrier than he had ever been with this particular person before._

 

" _It had to be done…" Wright's voice was soft but unrepentant as he refused to look at John._

 

" _Who gave you the right to choose what had to be done? What you did was uncalled for!" John spat, and finally Wright looked up, blue eyes glazed around the edges with an uncharacteristic dampness. If John had only known that this would be the last time he would ever see those gorgeous blue eyes again, maybe things would have ended differently. Maybe his anger would have ebbed away, and he would have held onto Mark for as long as he could before they inevitably went their own separate ways._

 

" _Connor…" Wright was speaking to him softly as he slowly approached, and John's anger flared._

 

" _Shut up! I don't want to hear it! You slept with a student and turned yourself in and now your leaving; funniest damned part of the whole thing is that it just so happened to be Kate, even though you've been sleeping with me for over a month!" John went to push Mark back as the man came closer._

 

" _I shouldn't…" Wright's hands were on his face now, caressing him gently, but his anger was too much._

 

" _Don't touch me!" he yelled striking out and catching Wright across the face, making the slighter man stumble before resuming his previous steadfast stance._

 

" _I'm a horrible teacher…" the older man laughed hollowly. "I let myself get trapped by you, here I find myself hurting you, and all I can do is run away. That's how you see it, isn't it? Me running away? Running from you and this damned control? You can think of it like that, but John, we both knew it would end badly in the end…"_

 

" _But why Kate?!" John spat, starring at the shorter man with dark furious eyes._

 

" _Because… John… Because she can have you and I can't…" Wright said in such a low voice, shocking John into silence, before he surged forward to pull John down into what would be the last kiss they would ever share. When John finally realized what had happened and what had been said, Wright was gone._

_A week later, after the rumor mill had made hash of Professor Wright's reputation, Kate's only remained intact because it was protected by the school, John received news that the rather young ex-convict, turned ex-detective, turned professor was killed in a mugging after he tried to save a young woman's life._

 

A rough shove against his chest brought John back to the present, where he found himself hovering over the Angel-bot that stared back with very bright and very familiar blue eyes. The palm against his chest pushed harder.

 

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

~ To Be Continued ~

 


	4. The Unbelievable Truth

" _What the hell do you think you're doing, Connor?" Professor Mark Wright groaned as he opened his eyes to see one of his top students hovering over him. He had escaped to the teachers' lounge to sleep off a rather nasty hangover, the product of another night nursing a bottle of off-brand liquor. Wright was so certain no one would bother him here… Damn…_

_John Connor took a step back as he continued to study his teacher. Mark Wright, professor of Criminology, a hard man to get to know, and an even harder man to have the want to do so. But John was intrigued. It was so very rare for him to find something or someone who drew his interest and woke his curiosity so thoroughly._

_Wright still had that expectant look on his unshaved face, as if he really did anticipate some form of explanation from John, as to why he was in the teachers' lounge in the first place. This made John smirk as an idea made its way to the front of his mind. It didn't take much to make him act on his thoughts, as he stepped forward, looming over Wright who sat on the lumpy floral sofa starring up at him with those eyes that reminded John of cloudless skies and blue oceans perfect for sailing._

 

The bot pushed at his chest again, blue eyes blinking in confusion as it frowned up at John. The voice, _its_ voice, was just like _his_. As were those damned eyes that peered up at him with a something almost like recognition.

 

"John…?" the word was breathy, hesitant and so very soft, almost a whisper, as those eyes searched his face widening at what they saw. It was a look John has seen before.

 

"What?" John's voice came as a low husk as he responded to the bot's whisper.

 

"John…" the bot said again in a tone that was all uneasy confusion and relief, the hand on his chest no longer tried to push him away as the slender fingers curled into the fabric, holding on to him. Mark's eyes, so clear and blue, clouded with confusion and disbelief, stared up at him, and John couldn't break that gaze. He'd almost forgotten the color of those eyes. He'd almost forgotten how alive and emotional they could be, telling him everything he needed to know about the man he had once loved more than his own wife. But this wasn't Mark, John tried to remind himself, but those eyes wouldn't let it quite sink in. "What's going on? When did you get so old? And why am I lying stark ass naked in a ply board box of pink packaging peanuts?"

 

*~*JOHN/MARCUS*~*

 

John's clothing fit loosely on Marcus's slighter frame, the cuff of his pants gathered around his ankles as the cuff of the shirt brushed against fingertips. He'd hastily thrown the Henley and jeans at the bot, fury simmering under the surface. He hadn't put much thought into their difference in size, but now as they sat waiting for Serena to join them in her office he couldn't help but let his eyes wander over to the abomination that was sitting in the chair to his right.

 

The bot was oddly pale now, eyes wide as he took in his surroundings. He'd been like this since John's angry reaction back at the penthouse. He looked almost frightened and refused to look at John since his outburst, and he hadn't spoken a word since as well.

 

Perhaps John was too harsh, but bots couldn't feel, so why should it bother him? His words shouldn't affect the thing, no matter how loud he yelled or how terrible his words might be, because it wasn't human, only an imitation that lacked human understanding and feelings.

 

Marcus's fingers trembled in his lap as he stared down at his clasped hands. John watched him jump as the doors opened allowing Serena entry before closing with a soft snick. A female bot with loose blonde curls dressed in green scrubs followed Serena and stood to the right of her desk as Serena took her seat.

 

"Problem John?" Serena asked after assessing the state both John and Marcus seemed to be in.

 

"What do you think?" John snapped, glare flitting from Serena to Marcus. The bot was watching him now, lips drawn in a tight thin line but looked away at John's glare.

 

Instead of responding to John's anger Serena spoke to the nurse bot she had brought in with her. "Misty, please take young Marcus to the lounge while I speak to Doctor Connor a moment. Be a dear and try to find something fitting for him to wear."

 

"Yes, ma'am." The bot responded in a soft soprano before moving to Marcus's side and leading him from the room. Once they were gone, with the door firmly shut behind them, she turned her steely gaze back on John.

 

"What did you do to Marcus? I thought it'd take longer than this for you to upset him." Her voice was even with a hard edge as she looked John down over her desk.

 

"Is that a joke?! What did 'I' do?! What do you think 'you' are doing sending that thing to my home, to help me with my children!?" John snapped, almost rising out of his chair but stopping at the sharp look he received from his old friend. "Not only did you have to make it look like him, but you have it thinking it's him as well!"

 

"That thing!? How dare you, John Connor…! I knew you were a stupid idiotic bastard, but how dare you treat him…!

 

"That thing is not Mark Wright!" John yelled, cutting off her indignant reply.

 

"John…" She said his name slowly. Serena must have seen something in his face, because her demeanor changed completely.

 

"The real Mark Wright died over fourteen years ago!"

 

"John… listen…" Serena tried again, the look in her eyes too much for John to meet so he looked away.

 

"He's dead, Serena. He died. It's unnatural to try and recreate that," John said before slumping back in his chair, emotionally exhausted by his anger and hurt. "You're supposed to be my friend, yet you do something like this to hurt me…"

 

"No, John, just listen to me for a moment," Serena began again, her voice soft and pleading. Perhaps she hadn't taken John's reaction into account when she began this endeavor. "Marcus 'Mark' Wright did die fourteen years ago," she paused, retrieving a manila envelope from the top right drawer of her desk. "His body was donated, since he had no family members to speak of and he was a fairly healthy man." She opened the envelope, retrieving the signed consent form that allotted owner ship to Skynet, making the aforementioned deceased Skynet property, sliding it across the table to John who slowly picked it up. "There was something peculiar about Wright, something my father saw, and I saw it too. He was dead, that's true, but Father always talked like Wright was still there, and I suppose it may have rubbed off on me a bit after time. Father's greatest work, his piece le resistance, as you will, was Wright. When father died, that mantel was passed to me. I'm not saying I can bring people back, because let's face it, I don't have that kind of power, but through some will and a miracle, and mine and my father's crazy belief, there was Marcus."

 

"What does all that have to do with that 'thing' walking around thinking it is Wright?" John asked slowly, eyes blindly fixed on the paper in his hand, his mind refusing to believe what Serena was telling him. It couldn't be true. Things like this didn't happen. When you die, you die. It's the end. The people who love you mourn your lose, but your still gone. Game over.

 

"He doesn't think he's Mark Wright; he is," Serena said calmly. "I've been working on him for years now and couldn't find the opportunity to reveal my little project; that is until you came here actively looking for a bot of your own. Now I see I may have misgauged your reaction to an almost unbearably unbelievable story, but what can I say; I'm a romantic. I knew you'd only ever loved him, and I have a thing for second chances and love anew stories."

 

"That isn't possible. You do know none of this is possible… that you're just crazy…right…? You can't bring someone back…" John said slowly, setting the paper back onto the desktop.

 

"But it is possible, as crazy as it sounds and as crazy as you think I am. It may be impossible to recreate, and unlikely that I will ever even try, but he's real John. He's the Mark you knew with a little bit of a 2.0 edge," Serena explained patiently.

 

"So what you are telling me is that you are Dr. Frankenstein, and Marcus is your monster…"

 

"Exactly!" Serena said happily, as she watched the remaining anger drain from John's body leaving him looking weary and hurt. "Except in this case, I'm far more brilliant than the good doctor, and our monster is quite possibly the prettiest monster in existence."

 

~ To Be Continued ~


End file.
